What is a Service Dog?

Service dogs are dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. - American Disability Act, 2011Service dogs are eyes for the blind, ears for the deaf, arms and legs for people with disabilities and warning bells for people with conditions which could put them in life threatening situations. They provide 24-hour help in daily living activities, thus reducing the need of human carers and increasing the level of independence of the person with a disability. They also provide therapy, companionship and a means to socially interact with others.

Service Dogs Malta Foundation

Our Aim

Our aim is to help people with a condition or a disability by providing them with a service dog that has been trained to overcome some of the difficulties they face on a day-to-day basis.

Why Service Dogs?

A service dog is the key to independence for many disabled people. Beyond opening doors and flicking light switches, dogs offer companionship and emotional support.

We aim to help:

hearing impaired persons

persons on the autistic spectrum

persons who are wheelchair bound or have mobility issues

individuals needing alert for conditions such as seizures and diabetes

individuals with psychiatric conditions

Our ultimate aim is to ensure that no person who could potentially benefit from a service dog is left without one.

How does it work?

Once a match has been made between a service dog and a person with a disability the service dog is given to the person free of charge (subject to terms and conditions) on condition that the dog will continue to be monitored on a yearly basis. It can take some time for a dog to be trained to meet the specific needs of a potential partner and the process can cost upwards of €15,000 per dog.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to ensure that no person who could potentially benefit from a service dog is left without one.

Donate

Help make a difference to someone’s life!

Your donation supports our service dogs through two years of intensive training before they can be placed at NO COST with the families who need them.